Alba is the capital of the white truffle.
Unlike other types of truffles, the tartufo bianco can't be formally cultivated, with steep prices to match its scarcity and high demand. Come October and November, the northern Italian town - around 20 minutes from where I've been living while studying at the University of Gastronomic Sciences - is transformed into a truffle-obsessed hub with the annual Fiera del Tartufo. Thousands of visitors flock to town to visit the outdoor stalls peddling the pricey nuggets, each carefully encased in individual little dishes with ... Read More >>

Every year, the little town of Barolo – renowned for its winemaking prowess and flanked by vineyards - swells from the 800 people who live there to 100,000 over a four day period. During the Collisioni festival each July, visitors flood the hillside village’s winding streets for live music, art exhibitions, literature readings and wine tastings.
Lots and lots of wine tastings. ... Read More >>

From our Masters class’ very first school foraging expedition, an end-of-week celebratory ritual was born – the Friday Foraged Feasts!
Every couple of weeks, we’d go out in search of wild foods, getting together on Friday nights for a banquet like no other.
Our spring and summer efforts turned up a bounty of edible plants, flowers and berries, like elderflower, stinging nettle, burdock, lambsquarter, farinello (wild spinach), luppolo (wild hops), guasca (native to Colombia, later introduced to Italy and went feral) and purslane, plus chamomile, blackberries, ... Read More >>

I knew I’d made the right decision to study at the University of Gastronomic Sciences when our course coordinator, Professor Pieroni, took us foraging on day one.
Getting out and learning about sustainability on a practical level was what I’d been craving, and a big part of why I decided to move to Italy and enrol in the Masters. ‘Foraging’ has been a culinary trend word of late, spurred by a collective of intrepid Nordic chefs, but for us this edible tour of Pollenzo – where the university is – was all about understanding and engaging with our local ... Read More >>

We started out with big plans. Grand visions of a trans-national expedition across northern Italy, starting in Piemonte and traversing over through Friuli, crossing into Slovinia and winding along the Croatian coast.
We’d researched for days on end to build the ultimate itinerary (me, mostly during uni classes and very distracted by the prospect of it all) - pouring over the restaurants with which to punctuate the journey, reaching out for the best tips on what to see, telling everyone we’d be leaving shortly.
An overseas road trip seemed like a sort of coming-of-age ... Read More >>

We came on a great year to take this course of ours.
Between starting our Masters at the University of Gastronomic Sciences in May 2014 and graduating in May 2015, we will have been able to take part in a slew of major food-focused events across Italy: the Decennale, the tenth anniversary of the university; Salone del Gusto and Terra Madre, two joint Slow Food conferences in Turin that only happen every couple of years; and Slow Fish, a bi-annual celebration of all things sustainable seafood in Genoa. And there’s also that wee sporting event - the 2014 FIFA World ... Read More >>

Streets sparse, cafés empty, shops closed.
This is the typical Sunday scene in Bra, where - for locals - the second day of the weekend usually means a morning visit to church and long lunches at home with family. On the rare occasion a store is open on Sundays, you’ll be sure to know – a glaring DOMENICA APERTO emblazoned across it, front and centre, at all times.
On arrival to town, I wanted to suss out if there were any grocers nearby I could dash to when in desperate need of weekend cooking supplies.
“Domenica, viene chiesa il negozio?”, I’d ask in my most ... Read More >>

I often get pooed on by birds.
No, seriously - it happens at least every few months, which I'm pretty sure is quite frequent compared to the average person's bird poo count. The last time it happened, I was lying in a park, unsuspecting of the feathered felon above; before that, sitting under the (apparently pigeon-filled) awning of a pub. Today, a most audacious attack took place in the would-be tranquil courtyard of a Piemontese osteria. Mid-mouthful of stuffed zucchini flower, the avian offender swiftly swooped and landed a big sloppy one smack-bang on the tip of ... Read More >>

I landed in Bra on a Thursday. By Friday night, I'd been taken under the wing of the lovely Lizzie Hewson - a fellow Aussie - who was already studying the same masters at the University of Gastronomic Sciences that I was soon set to begin.
Bra is small but surrounded by beautiful little towns, acres of vineyards and farms and lush hillside landscapes. All the better for getting out on the weekend to explore the countryside.
Lizzie took me along to Casa Scaparone, sitting on 15 hectares of orchards and grain paddocks near the city of Alba, where they grind their own ... Read More >>

I’m an Australian writer based in Turin, Italy, covering food, sustainability and travel. Here you’ll find my online portfolio and journal, including my published writing and photography clips, plus pieces I’ve put together just for this site. Thanks for visiting!